India’s first mainstream anti-Nehruvian leader, Narendra Modi, sets a new political paradigm

There appears to be consensus that Modi is set to redefine political campaigning, even if he falls just shy of destroying Nehruvian template for good.

NEW DELHI: It is common enough for television programming to follow important holidays in thematic consonance. This independence day, however, a major satellite channel appeared to overextend the theme. Instead of the usual staple of Indian patriotic films, the channel chose to broadcast the Hollywood blockbuster Independence Day, a tale of an American president who overcomes odds to beat back an alien invasion of the planet.

Some political analysts say the American film was suitable viewing on a day India saw a US-style face-off between the incumbent, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who addressed the nation for the 10th time in a row from Delhi's Red Fort, and his main challenger, Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi, who spoke from Lalan in Bhuj and castigated the PM.

Analysts are divided, though, over whether Modi's attempts to turn the next general elections into a direct contest with the prime minister will last the course of the campaign and, more important, whether this is the right course for him to follow.

Modi's biographer, Nilanjan Mukhopadhyaya, says the chief minister is out to challenge the status quo in more ways than one. "By challenging the prime minister on what is essentially the PM's day, Modi is saying that if the prime minister can say from the Red Fort that his opponents indulge in sectarian politics, then why cannot Modi ask for a debate." Mukhopadhyaya reiterates that Modi is India's first mainstream anti-Nehruvian leader and that he is set to shake the country's political paradigm.

BJP leader LK Advani's chastisement of Modi for taking on the prime minister on Independence Day just shows the discomfort that this paradigm shift has endangered, Mukhopadhyaya says.

The difference between the two leaders stems from their varying backgrounds, Mukhopadhyaya says. "Advani is from a middle-class public educated background, where the approbation of the intelligentsia is an important factor in image; Modi has a more working class scrappy ethos," he says.

Indeed, Modi's criticism, even from Congress, was more on form than the content of his speech. Even general secretary Digvijaya Singh, Modi's most strident critic, just said, "On Modi's Independence (Day) speech, I and Advani ji are on the same page. Modi's abrasive hunger for power has no limits." Commerce minister Anand Sharma on Friday reeled out some numbers to challenge Modi's claims, but also attacked his style. "He has dragged the political discourse to such a low depth that it is difficult to respond to him in his language. This is not part of our culture. Humility and dignity have not touched Narendra Modi. Otherwise, he would have refrained from saying what he has said and this exposes him more than endearing him to the people," Sharma said.

Former BJP ideologue KN Govindacharya, who has been colleagues with Modi during the latter's stint in Delhi, questions the wisdom of the apparent strategy to aim for the Centre by talking about the achievements in Gujarat.

The thematic emphasis on the Gujarat model, he says, will harm Modi's prospects as "other assertions" like Bihar model, the MP model, etc will also come into play. "Narendra Modi has a certain nature, he is focused and believes that politics is about power. This has to be gained through elections, where a message is diffused through certain mediums, what we call in Hindi jumle baazi. In all these exercises a larger-than-life image is to be constructed and superimposed over the party," he says.

There appears to be consensus that Modi is set to redefine political campaigning in India, even if he falls just shy of destroying the Nehruvian template for good.